


Sharing The Burden

by plikki



Series: Keeping it under wraps [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cuddling, Established Relationship, F/M, Talking, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22130923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Adrien wants to help Marinette but she believed she could do it all. Until now. They are a team for a reason.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Keeping it under wraps [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592848
Comments: 6
Kudos: 189





	Sharing The Burden

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year everyone! I wanted to start 2020 with something light and fluffy. But it got out of hand, again. This is what turned out instead. I guess it's still fluffy, but more serious. Well, you'll be the judge of that. Since I needed some backstory for this one and Sing A Little Song worked just fine, I'm using it as part 1. If you haven't read it, you may want to before reading this one, but it won't be a problem if you don't too. It's pretty self-explanatory, I think.  
> I hope you like it!

Marinette felt warm and safe. And so comfortable, wrapped up in Adrien’s arms as she was. But she hadn’t realised just how good this made her feel until she was blinking and looking around confused, seeing the end credits of the movie they were watching. When did it happen? They’d just sat down to watch it and she’d been feeling so good as Adrien held her and her head rested on his chest, his heartbeat lulling her… into sleep, she realised. She’d fallen asleep on him! And she was making a habit of it, after that one time on the train.

Her head shot up and she looked at him, still blinking the sleep away.

“Adrien, I’m so sorry! I don’t know how it happened. I missed the whole movie!”

He was smiling serenely at her, his eyes full of adoration.

“Well, I know. You were exhausted and clearly needed the sleep. So you missed the movie? No big deal. At least you got some rest,” he said, as a hand caressed her flushed cheek. 

“But this was our time together! I can’t believe I slept through it all…” she lamented. “And you… did you sleep? You were tired too.”

“Nope. I was too busy watching you sleep,” he said, his eyes softening further. And her blush deepened as a result.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. You looked so peaceful. To be honest, I’ve been a little worried. Things have been pretty hectic for you recently and you don’t seem to be getting enough sleep.”

He was right. She’d been really busy and sleeping, well, it hadn’t been so easy since she’d lost Master Fu. She felt uneasy and anxious all the time always expecting Hawk Moth’s next step and dreading it. 

And with Adrien there… she’d finally been able to relax in a way she’d only been able to before she became Ladybug. 

“I felt so calm with you here,” she admitted and his arms tightened around her. 

“I’m glad to hear it. It’s good to know I helped in some way,” he said softly, kissing the top of her head affectionately. She was just about to respond to that, to tell him he helped her in so many ways, when she realised something else.

“Oh, but what if my mum had come in!” she practically squeaked. They’d been so careful, they had to be. And to think it could have been her lack of sleep giving them away. To her surprise, she felt Adrien shake with silent laughter.

“M’lady, you were just sleeping! Even if your mum saw us, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. She must see how tired you are all the time too. Also, I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve done a very good job of fooling her. She's very perceptive. I’m pretty sure she’s already suspecting there is more than we’re giving away,” he said. 

Marinette realised he was right again. When they’d first decided giving a relationship in secret a go, they both hadn’t realised that they’d have a lot of work to do. They were constantly toeing a delicate line, always on the lookout for a little something that could reveal what should be hidden. It was impossible to pretend things were the way they had been before they’d revealed each other’s identities and decided to get together. So it was futile to try that. Instead, they’d acted out a slow and gradual process of them becoming closer so that people around them wouldn’t get suspicious. And for the most part, it had worked. But some people were harder to fool than others. Her mum for one. 

They’d tried to act casual around her. But it was better if Adrien went to her house as a friend than for her to sneak him into her room and then worry that they’d get caught. And while they tried to keep those visits down to a frequency that wouldn’t raise suspicions, her mum knew better. She was very aware of Marinette’s feelings for Adrien and she’d seen the change in her behaviour around him. So it would be a miracle if she wasn’t suspicious. But they’d have to rely on her motherly instincts picking up on the fact that there must be a very good reason for them to keep their relationship a secret. 

“This wasn’t a good idea. We should have stuck to patrols,” Marinette grumbled as she realised how naive they had been to think that this could go unnoticed. Of course Adrien visiting her, alone, without any of their other friends, would be a red flag for her parents.

“We’re still doing that. But you know why we decided that getting closer as friends would make sense, to explain the change in behaviour to an extent. And I guess it was just too hard to pass up the opportunity to spend more time with you,” he said sheepishly, nose buried in her neck. She giggled. Moments like that made it all seem worthwhile. But she knew what was the price to pay if they became too careless. They should never let their guard down. Her parents… well, she had to believe they wouldn’t expose them without first seeing it was okay to do so. And if push came to shove, they could have a talk with them and ask them to keep their secret. They could always use his celebrity status as an excuse for preferring to keep a low profile. 

“Oh well. We can never be too careful, you know,” she said. But now that she didn’t have this to worry about, she got back to what had caught her attention earlier. She turned around in his arms to better look at him.

“Adrien, you know you help me in so many ways. What was that comment earlier?” She said. It may be her overthinking things, but she still needed to ask. The way he looked away from her told her she was on the right track. Something was troubling her.

“I’m not doing that much. More like getting in your way most of the time,” he mumbled, still not looking at her.

A soft gasp escaped her lips. She couldn’t have this. He knew how much it meant to her to have him by her side. He couldn’t possibly think that he wasn’t helping her. 

“Kitty,” she said sternly, placing a hand on his cheek to make him look at her. He looked so forlorn that her heart sank. How could this have happened? “You can’t really mean that. You know perfectly well that I wouldn’t be able to do all this without you,” she said with a serious tone. 

“But.. I’m not doing anything!” he said, his voice rising. He realised they could be heard and toned it down before continuing. “Here I am and you’re still exhausted and worried and… I can’t be doing much if you’re close to collapse.”

She closed her eyes. Well, he had a point there. She was still letting the weight of everything fall on her shoulders. She knew it was too much and still she let it go on like that. But it was her fault, not his. So she couldn’t let him think otherwise.

“It’s my fault,” she told him. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something but I’ve been putting it off,” she admitted. “Because you’re busy too, Adrien.” This was her concern. That he couldn’t take much more himself. 

“But still, I’m not Ladybug. You do realise I don’t feel the same pressure as you. I may worry about you and do my best to always be there for you. But I know my role is not crucial. You can do well enough without me. But you know you always have to be ready, always do your best. It’s taking its toll on you. Especially with the whole guardian thing added on top.”

Her hand dug into his side instinctively. She hated it when he was right when she wanted him to be wrong. But he was also wrong. 

“Well, you’re not Ladybug, but we all know I’d be lost without you. Not just during a fight, that goes without saying. You help me by being here for me, kitty. You listen to me complain about the lack of time, about the pressure to do everything, about my fear of Hawk Moth’s next move. It means the world to me. It’s bad, I know. I should take better care of myself. But you should know it would have been a thousand times worse if I didn’t have you by my side. If you didn’t know my secret and if you didn’t encourage me and believe in me.”

He sighed and closed his eyes, nuzzling the hand that was still cupping his cheek. 

“I know all this,” he whispered. “But it still doesn’t feel enough. I just feel so… useless sometimes.”

“Well, how about I ask you to do something for me? With me?” she said. Maybe she’d been putting it off long enough. It would be better for both of them.

“Anything, m’lady,” his eyes sprung open as he said that, determination clear in them.

“We get to decide who to use as back-up heroes together. And you’d get the Miraculous we need whenever we decide it’s better than me doing it.”

The truth was, in the time that had passed since their latest showdown with Hawk Moth, they hadn’t done much to prepare for the next blow. And she was sure it would be a serious one because he seemed to be biding his time. She knew it probably had something to do with Mayura and how fragile she’d seemed during that last battle. But she also knew he now had access to the guardian’s secrets in the grimoire. So maybe he was preparing something big. And they needed to be prepared for it. There was no point in waiting longer. 

“Are you sure about that?” Adrien didn’t seem so sure that this was the right idea. “Wouldn’t this be dangerous?”

“Well, you already knew who Viperion and Pegasus were. Not to mention Queen Been and Ryoku. And it just makes sense. If something happens to me, you’ll need them. There is no one else to help you now. So…”

“So… Who do we have?”

“As far as we know, Carapace’s identity wasn’t compromised. Well, he was there when Miracle Queen gathered her army, but they didn’t know what Miraculous he used because it was with Master Fu. So it may be safe for him to continue as before. The same goes for Viperion, since Sass was with us. But as for Rena Rouge, Pegas and King Monkey… they’d need new Miraculouses so that they can’t be recognised. We may give all of them a new Miraculous, we'll see about that. And we may soon need to use Alix too, if something too bad happens,” she said, thinking out loud. 

“You know we can give Kagami another Miraculous too, she’s capable,” he said tentatively. It still hurt, whenever Marinette remembered how close he’d been to getting together with Kagami. But she also knew how close they were as friends, that they really understood each other. And it was easier, when she knew that he loved her and was assured time and time again by him that he didn’t want anyone else. Also, since they were bringing Luka into the equation, it was only fair that Kagami was given another chance too. 

“You’re right,” she said with a smile. “We’ll find another good match for her. And we may consider giving a Miraculous to someone else, too. Depending on the occasion. But you’ll always know. We’ll take this kind of decisions together,” she promised.

“What about the Miracle box? He asked.

“Well, you already know it’s here. And like I said, you may need to have access to it anyway. So you’ll know the secret code and the kwamis will know they must do whatever you deem right. You have a right to this. And I know you’ll never betray me. I trust you.”

“Thank you,” he said quietly. She could see how much this meant to him. And she felt in her heart that this was the right thing to do. 

“This also means our carelessness might come in handy. My parents wouldn’t bat an eyelid to see you drop by to get something from my room now that they know we’re close. So you have a perfect excuse too. Since we know it would be better if you come here as yourself, not transformed, in case someone thinks to follow Chat Noir in an attempt to get to the box.”

“You’re right, as always. It seems me being here is not such a bad thing after all,” he said with a smile. 

“Never,” she said before kissing him softly. “But it’s still getting late and you better go,” she said with regret. She didn’t want to let him go. But it was the responsible thing to do. 

“You’re right. We both need to sleep too,” he said and they both stood up. 

“Things will get better. We can do this together, I know,” Marinette said, pulling him down for another kiss. 

“I love you, Marinette. If you think of anything else I can do to help you, never hesitate to tell me,” Adrien said afterwards. “I meant it when I said I’d do anything.”

“I know, kitty. I love you too. I.. I wish you could stay here, because I really sleep more peacefully with you beside me,” she said, blushing. “But this is not an option, so there is nothing else for now.”

“Someday,” he said, a promise in his eyes. 

“Someday,” she agreed. It was good enough for now. 


End file.
